linkin_park_junior_undergroundfandomcom-20200213-history
Meteora
Meteora is the second studio album by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released on March 25, 2003 through Warner Bros. Records, following Reanimation, a collaboration album which featured remixes of songs included on their debut studio album Hybrid Theory. Linkin Park released five singles from Meteora for over a year, including "Somewhere I Belong", "Faint", "Numb", "From the Inside" and "Breaking the Habit". The song "Lying from You" was released as a promotional single. Meteora takes its title from the Greek Orthodox monasteries. Meteora is the most successful album in the history of the Alternative Songs chart, a chart that specializes in radio play of alternative songs. As of 2013, the album has sold over 20,000,000 copies worldwide, and is certified four times platinum by the RIAA. Meteora was also ranked No. 36 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums of the Decade. The song "Session" was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, but lost to Jeff Beck's "Plan B". Some songs from the album were remixed with some of Jay-Z's songs for the EP Collision Course. Background and Production Meteora, which was produced by Don Gilmore and Linkin Park, features a mixture of the band's previous nu-metal and rap metal styles with newer innovative effects. "Nobody's Listening" features a sample from the band's track "High Voltage (Remix)", which appears on the B-side for the single "One Step Closer" and the bonus disc of Hybrid Theory. The sample is a distorted version of Mike Shinoda's rapping line that is in the chorus of "High Voltage" where he states "Coming at you from every side". The track also includes the induction of a shakuhachi, a Japanese flute made of bamboo. "Breaking the Habit" features an electronica-influenced sound, live strings and guitar. This is an exception from their previous nu-metal/rap rock performances, as no distorted guitar riffs, nor any rapping vocals from Mike Shinoda are included – a style they would further explore on the albums A Thousand Suns and Living Things. Linkin Park comprehensively rehearsed the album, recording more than forty choruses for the first single "Somewhere I Belong". In a retrospective interview, Chester Bennington stated "We knew what we wanted, and we knew how to execute to a certain degree. However, we were also just going for it. We didn't really care about what anybody else was doing. We also didn't care whether or not the songs fit together stylistically as a whole or a collection of songs." Other Editions There is a special edition of Meteora, which includes the "Making of Meteora" DVD documentary. They are packaged together in a blue tinted case with the blue Meteora cover that can be found in some parts of Asia, United States, and more commonly in India. The India version contains an alternate DVD and alternative cover that is packaged in a slimline case with the disc in original packaging. The "Tour Edition" of Meteora is packaged in a two disc set. The second disc, which is a video CD, has the music videos for "Somewhere I Belong", "Faint", "Numb", and "Breaking the Habit". The tour edition is packaged in a standard compact disc case, rather than their trademark digi-pak case. The album was also released on a very limited quantity of vinyl records (spread across two LPs) under Warner Brothers. These are coveted by collectors and fetch high prices at auction. Reception In its first week it sold an estimated 810,000 units. It sold 5,913,000 copies in the United States alone and over 20,000,000 copies worldwide. The album was ranked No. 36 on Billboard's Hot 200 Albums of the Decade. Meteora received generally positive reviews, although critics noted that the album's musical style was similar to its predecessor, Hybrid Theory (2000). The overall Metacritic score is 62. E! Online rated it an A, and expected it to "shoot straight for the stars". Entertainment Weekly described it as "radio-friendly perfection". Dot Music described it as a "guaranteed source of ubiquitous radio hits". Rolling Stone said the band "squeezed the last remaining life out of this nearly extinct formula". Billboard Magazine described Meteora as "a ready-made crowd pleaser". The New Musical Express said it had "massive commercial appeal" but left the reviewer "underwhelmed". Allmusic described it as "nothing more and nothing less than Hybrid Theory Part 2.", adding "More importantly, the group has discipline and editing skills, keeping this record at a tight thirty-six minutes and forty-one seconds, a move that makes it considerably more listenable than its peers and, by extension, more powerful, since they know where to focus their energy, something that many nu-metal bands simply do not." Blender described it as "harder, denser, uglier", while Q'' described it as "less an artistic endeavor than an exercise in target marketing." Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+, calling it a "thunderously hooky album that seamlessly blends the group's disparate sonic elements into radio-friendly perfection" The song "Session" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 2004. In other media * A Green Lantern remix of "Nobody's Listening" by the band is featured on the Fort Minor debut mixtape, ''We Major, which was released October 2005 in promotion of its debut studio album, The Rising Tied (2005). * "Session" is featured on the original motion picture soundtrack to The Matrix Reloaded, a sequel to the first film The Matrix. Track Listing All tracks written and composed by Linkin Park. Digital and Korean Tour Edition Bonus Tracks 2013 iTunes Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks ''Meteora - Live Around the World'' Tour Edition Video Disc Track Listing Multimedia Part *''The Art of Meteora'' – 17:04 *"Somewhere I Belong Video" *LPTV *Website tool-kit *Extra *Merch *LP Underground ;Limited Edition Bonus DVD *''The Making of Meteora'' - 34:19 Personnel Linkin Park *Chester Bennington – vocals *Mike Shinoda – rap vocals, keyboards; strings arrangement on "Faint" and "Breaking the Habit" *Brad Delson – guitars, backing vocals *Dave Farrell – bass guitar, backing vocals *Joe Hahn – turntables, sampling, keyboards backing vocals *Rob Bourdon – drums, backing vocals Additional Musicians *David Campbell – strings arrangement on "Faint" and "Breaking the Habit" *Joel Derouin, Charlie Bisharat, Alyssa Park, Sara Parkins, Michelle Richards, Mark Robertson – violins *Evan Wilson, Bob Becker – violas *Larry Corbett, Dan Smith – celli *David Zasloff – shakuhachi flute on "Nobody's Listening" Production *Don Gilmore & Linkin Park - production *Don Gilmore - recording *EnrJohn Ewing, Jr. – engineer *Fox Phelps – assistant engineer *Andy Wallace – mixing *Steve Sisco – assisted mixing *Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering, digital editing Management *Tom Whalley & Jeff Blue – A&R *Marny Cameron – A&R coordination *Peter Standish & Kevin Sakoda – marketing directors *Rob McDermott for the Firm - worldwide representation *Ryan Saullo, Ryan Demarti, and Noah Edelman - additional worldwide representation *Michael Arfin for Artist Group, International - booking agent *Danny Hayes – legal for Davis, Shapiro, Lewit, Montone & Hayes *Michael Oppenheim & Jonathan Schwartz – business managers for Gudvi, Sussman & Oppenheim *Bandmerch - worldwide licensing and merchandising Artwork *Mike Shinoda and The Flem – creative direction *The Flem – art direction & design *Delta, Mike Shinoda, Joseph Hahn, and The Flem – installation artists *James R. Minchin III – photography *Nick Spanos – spray paint can close-up photos Charts and Certifications Charts Certifications Singles Category:Linkin Park Discography